About the Adult Family Project

Dr. Fingerman is a Professor of Human Development & Family Sciences at UT Austin. She studies adult development and aging. She has published numerous scholarly articles on positive and negative emotions and social support among families and friends in late life.
The National Institute on Aging (NIA) funded her work for over 15 years and currently funds her Family Exchanges Study, a longitudinal study involving middle-aged adults, their romantic partners, grown children and aging parents. She is also currently conducting the NIA-funded Daily Experiences in Late Life study looking at older adults social relationships and physical and cognitive functioning in a daily context. Her work has been funded by the Brookdale Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation Network on Transitions to Adulthood and the MacArthur Foundation Network on an Aging Society. Her research has drawn on survey methods, observational studies, experimental paradigms, daily diary, and salivary hormone data collection techniques.

The Adult Family Project focuses on adults’ relationships with their parents, spouses, grown children, romantic partners, friends, and other social partners. We look at how relationships with family members, friends, and acquaintances change from young adulthood to old age. We have a number of exciting study opportunities for people who want to participate in our research and for students who want to get involved in conducting research. Research is conducted in the Human Development and Family Sciences Department at the University of Texas at Austin.

The Adult Family project also runs the NIA-sponsored Family Exchanges Study R01AG027769. To learn about the study and request data, please click here. To learn about the NIA-funded Daily Experiences in Late Life Study R01AG046460 click here.